Ducks of London: Saturday 8/4 Results & Sunday 8/5 Preview

Little known fact: I'm terrible at sleeping. Takes me forever, and I get waves where I can't for the life of me fall asleep, even when I'm exhausted. Sucks for me, but great for you, since I can churn out some early morning Duck stuff.

Saturday was a great day for Duck athletes in London, and clearly the biggest news was the men's 10,000 meter final. Galen Rupp's dominant performance in the 10K at the Olympic trials at Hayward Field left many people expecting something special in London, and the former Duck did not disappoint, making an astonishing finishing kick over the last 200 meters to win the silver medal with a time of 27:30.9, finishing only behing training partner Mo Farah of Great Britain. The two Nike Oregon Project runners ran together in the middle of the pack the first half of the race, and could be seen communicating with each other throughout the race. Farah moved to join the lead group with 5200 meters to go, and Rupp made his first move at lap 16, moving from twelfth to third in a single lap's time. Farah took the lead with 600 meters to go, and never gave it up, but Rupp stayed in fourth until the final turn, passing Bedan Karoki Muchiri of Kenya in the turn, and Ethiopia's Tariku Bekele on the straighaway. Rupp becomes only the third American ever to medal in the 10K, and the first since 1964. The race is also a big deal for Duck alum and marathon great Alberto Salazar, who trains both Farah and Rupp.

Before Rupp ran his 25 laps to immortality, other Ducks were in action. Canadian Brianne Theisen completed her final three events in the heptathlon, and set new personal bests in all three. After long jumping over 6 meters, and throwing a javelin over 46 meters, she turned in the third-fastest 800 meter time in the field at 2:09.27, and finished the competition in 11th place, less than 300 points away from medal contention. Also, pole vaulter Becky Holliday cleared the qualifying height of 4.55 meters, and will compete in Monday morning's final.

Sunday's noteworthy event is the semifinals of the men's 1,500 meters, where Andrew Wheating and Matthew Centrowitz will be vying for a spot in Tuesday night's final. Wheating will compete in heat 1, and Centrowitz in heat 2, with the twelve fastest runners moving on to the final. You can also watch McKay HS grad Ryan Bailey go head-to-head with Usain Bolt in the semifinals of the men's 100 meter dash.

Feel free to chat about all of Sunday's Olympic action, as it happens, in the comments section. If you're one of those who waits until primetime, then read at your own risk!